Verizon has stopped taking pre-orders on the iPhone. The stop happened around 8 P.M. EST on Thursday. Despite our diligent efforts, none of our contacts from the “Red V” seem to exactly know what happened. Some speculate that Verizon only had a specific number of iPhones set aside for pre-order and the company has reached this number, so buyers will have to wait till 02/09/11 at 3 A.M. EST to try to order one online or take their chances trying to acquire one on 02/10/11 at 7 A.M. local time at a Verizon store. Verizon had indicated since the iPhone announcement that initial inventory availability would be limited.

The early reviews of the iPhone are starting to come in, and as with everything, there seems to be some significant drawbacks to jumping from AT&T to Verizon, the biggest of which is that CDMA/EVDO does not support simultaneous voice and data (which is something many iPhone users like to use). There is nothing like being on your iPhone and looking something up on the web while you discuss it over the phone at the same time. CDMA/EVDO on Verizon does not support it and never will, so Verizon users will have to wait till they get an LTE iPhone for Verizon before they are going to get simultaneous voice and data.

The new Verizon iPhone does appear to have a redesigned antenna, which has been confirmed already by some, so this is a good thing for Verizon iPhone buyers. The Verizon iPhone will include a mobile hotspot option that AT&T users have wanted but are apparently finally going to get, as AT&T will be pushing it out to iPhone owners.
Many iPhone users believe that the service and speed will be better on Verizon, and this appears to be something that isn’t exactly correct. Yes, the voice coverage on Verizon’s network is very good, but the data speed is pretty slow. If you are a heavy data user, you might be better off staying on AT&T, as the data throughput performance seems to be much better.

If you are an international traveler, you will not be roaming with your iPhone if you are not headed to Canada. The version of the iPhone that Verizon is offering isn’t a “World Phone” model, so it does not have the necessary GSM support in the phone to be able to roam on international GSM networks, which is the current cell phone standard in the rest of the world that matters. Of course, International roaming isn’t cheap, but that really isn’t the point.

Maybe the biggest reason not to jump to Verizon from AT&T is the fact that the iPhone on Verizon isn’t 4G LTE-enabled. Really, that is what would have gotten many people’s attention. While many people just want to be on Verizon, or are already with Verizon and want iPhone, these folks will likely be happy with iPhone coming to Verizon. Those on AT&T might find that they are actually better off to stay where they are. We actually think that in the end many iPhone fans will be happier on AT&T with the AT&T version of the iPhone.